In this article, you will learn about Pumpkin, Carrot, and Tiger paint colors including a side-by-side comparison. If you are considering either of these colors, the following information will help you make the right decision.
Pumpkin vs Carrot vs Tiger: Orange Paint Colors Compared
Orange is the color of fall, pumpkins, and fire. This article will compare shades of orange colors including pumpkin, carrot, and tiger.
Orange is considered to be an appetite stimulant and to be an energizing color. This is a color that doesn’t back down; if you’re looking for an accent wall, it’s a great choice.
Pumpkin
If fall is your favorite season, pumpkin orange may be your favorite color. When looking for pumpkin paint, fabric or carpet colors, do make sure you haven’t chosen pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin spice is a wonderful rust color that can offer a lot of warmth to a space, but it’s not as hot as true pumpkin.
Pumpkin is a color that comes out swinging. It’s quite difficult to use this as a foil for anything because it doesn’t fade into the background.
However, it can be a terrific tool in the right setting.
For example, it will draw the eye if you use it at the back of your bookcases, especially in a child’s space. If you collect bright ceramics, such as the fun antique salt and pepper shakers so popular in years gone by, this color can really draw the eye.
Finally, pumpkin can work as a foil for black and white. If your decorating budget is small, a wonderfully fun way to fill up a bare wall is to use a collection of vintage images or advertisements.
Cut everything to a fairly uniform size and visit your local dollar store for a collection of black frames.
Get a can of pumpkin orange spray paint. Cut and paint pressed cardboard to serve as a mat for your images.
Use a light touch and give yourself time to paint in layers to keep the mat from curling; the glass will cover any unevenness in the paint finish.
What can you pair with pumpkin orange? Go deep. A rich moss green, teal or cobalt blue, or warm brown will anchor pumpkin orange. This is a color that also works well with most wood tones.
RGB: 255, 117, 24
Hex Code: #FF7518
Carrot
Carrot orange is a good color choice for any decorator who wants to experiment with orange. If you’re not certain of which color will be most intense when comparing three different shades, look for the color with the smallest gap between the largest and smallest numbers.
When comparing red vs. blue, the carrot-orange gap is just 204. Pumpkin is 231 and tiger is 228. Both tiger and pumpkin are stronger or “hotter” than carrot.
Hot colors can be visually stimulating in small bursts. In large swaths, they can be overwhelming.
A carrot-orange wall in your kitchen can be bright and cheerful; in our bedroom, it will be exhausting.
If you’re not sure how a color will impact you, consider hanging a bit of fabric to test drive the shade.
Treat yourself to a set of café curtain hangers and a brass rod. Get a small sampling of carrot orange fabric, hem the edges and hang up some curtains just to see what the color does in your space.
It should also be noted that carrot orange is a bit kitschy. If you love 70’s vintage decorating pieces, you’ll notice that many of them go with carrot orange.
Additionally, you may remember furniture fabric that featured carrot orange and would never wear out. Like the harvest gold refrigerator, the carrot orange floral sofa fabric will just never die.
The lowest percentage in each orange in this listing on the RGB scale is blue. A strong blue will always create a visual tussle with any orange. Anything that isn’t visually restful will be energizing; if you want to use the space to relax, energizing color choices become agitating.
If you love both of these colors, try to pair them gently; fabric that features narrow stripes of either color may be all the orange you need.
RGB: 237, 145, 33
Hex Code: #ED9121
Tiger
Tiger orange is similar to pumpkin in terms of intensity. Something to consider if you want to use tiger orange in your decor is the purity of the colors that you put against it.
For best results and the least amount of color combat, avoid:
- clear aqua
- cerulean blue
- mint green
We tend to think that richer, more intense colors will step back and serve as a foil for cleaner, lighter, or more pure colors. Both pumpkin and tiger will not.
There’s nothing at all wrong with using this rich orange in your decor. Just be aware that the contrast will be constant, may draw the eye and be a distraction, or could simply serve as an agitation to your spirit.
Any time you use one of the hot or fire colors in your space, think hard about the real estate percentage you give it.
If your living room is 12 x 20, put orange on one of the 12-foot walls.
If you have a wall that is full of windows, paint that one orange to add visual boldness without creating an overwhelming tiger-orange presence. Put a pine tree outside the window to celebrate that green richness while enjoying your orange all year long.
Because most wood tones include yellow or red, you can use this accent color easily against an oak floor or a warm maple trim. Do be extremely careful if you’re going to paint your trim white.
Avoid bright white that has blue in the formula; blue is a contrast to orange and may darken how your tiger orange reads at the bottom of the wall or against the door frame.
Use a cream or a warm white to boost the yellow of your trim paint. Do make sure you avoid any stain that could appear black; you will create a Halloween-specific space.
Because tiger orange is such a strong color, it can also serve as a foil in a display cabinet.
If you want a fireplace wall or you have cubby shelves with overhead lighting, painting the back of the cubby tiger orange and putting collectibles of most any color in front of them can be visually striking. To release the eye, just turn off the lights.
For the most restful option, look for fabrics that feature a tiger orange stripe. Cushions, hassocks, and throws that include this color will appear bright and clean for years to come.
RGB: 249, 104, 21
Hex Code: #F96815
